


'Cause I'm Your Pilot Anywhere

by AppleSharon



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Poe is so gone but also an idiot, Romance, Rose and Rey as wingwomen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-01-16 18:40:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21275876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AppleSharon/pseuds/AppleSharon
Summary: Despite the fact that Poe had heard Rose say all of two words prior to his ill-fated mutiny, he could tell that Rose was the type of person who could inspire others quietly — through her kindness rather than loud, brash action.Simply put, Rose was his opposite. And she had visibly inspired and influenced Finn.Poe enjoyed thinking about what that meant for him, Finn, and Rose even less than thinking about why he was so insistent on looking after Finn.A getting-together fic set between TLJ and TRoS.Written for the TFA Kinkmeme froman old promptabout Poe pining after Finn when Finn and Rose are inseparable post-events of TLJ. He decides to support Finn and Rose's "relationship" only to find out that Finn is interested in him after all.





	1. Lighting star

**Author's Note:**

> I picked up this prompt to get back into the sequel trilogy (and FinnPoe!) fandom before the new movie releases since I know I'll be itching to write about it. The goal was to have this done before the movie is released in December (that obviously did not happen). 
> 
> The full prompt is as follows: As soon as Rose wakes up from her coma, she and Finn are inseparable: training, meal times, or even in their free time. And while Poe like, gets it (they've been through a lot together, right?), he can't help but feel a bit neglected. Cue him being very sad yet not wanting to say something and hurt Finn (and Rose's feelings)!
> 
> \+ Poe /wants/ to be mad at Rose for taking away His Man but she's just??? such a genuinely good person that any sort of vitriol he feels immediately melts into shame  
+He ends up forming a friendship with Rey in his Free Time  
\+ I'm not exactly sure how to describe it but that juicy juicy angst when one feels left out? good.  
+++ Turns out the entire time Finn and Rose have been gossiping, all Finn's been talking about is Poe (and is maybe a bit hurt at him distancing himself? or cheerfully oblivious?) and they get they Dumb Gay Selves together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _When Finn had been in his medically-induced coma, Poe would swear that he could hear Finn’s voice in his head. _
> 
> _Poe! Poe Dameron!_

When Finn had been in his medically-induced coma, Poe would swear that he could hear Finn’s voice in his head. 

_Poe! Poe Dameron!_

The utter joy he had heard in Finn’s voice felt like flying. This beautiful man who had broken what Poe could only surmise was a lifetime of training and possibly torture at the most impressionable of ages hadn’t died on Jakku. He was alive and he had completed Poe’s mission. Poe could have kissed him on the tarmac. 

And then Finn had asked for Poe’s help in rescuing Rey. 

_Anything._ Poe had thought. _Anything for you._

Finn had saved his life after all. He owed the former stormtrooper everything.

When Finn woke up, Poe had just returned to the _Raddus_. Stubbornness, anger, and frustration swirled in his mind. There had been too many casualties. If only he had flown better, faster — he should have talked to Hux less and flown more, he should have talked to Hux longer and stalled him instead of going for a stupid joke. They would be alive, they would all be alive if only he had been more. 

He would be better next time. 

When he looked up, he saw Finn, flexpoly suit dripping bacta out of a variety of tubes onto the floor, arms forcibly positioned at awkward angles as if they wanted to hang naturally at his sides but the suit wouldn’t let them.

Finn’s first words were “Where’s Rey?”

Predictable and it still stung like hell on top of the botched evacuation but also for reasons that Poe really didn’t want to think about. _I sat at your bedside every day that I could_, Poe had wanted to say. _I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up. I wanted to be. I really wanted to be the first face you saw._

_I’m sorry._

Poe didn’t say any of these things. Instead, he told Finn where Rey had gone — to find Luke Skywalker. The next branching path of the mission that Finn, not Poe, had completed. There wasn’t enough time to tell him much else.

It was only now, onboard the _Falcon_ and moments after Crait, that Poe realized how close he had come to losing Finn. The bile that rose in his throat at the memory of Finn racing towards the cannon did not subside at the memory of Rose Tico slamming into Finn’s ski speeder, stopping the former stormtrooper’s suicide assault. She had saved Finn’s life and then kissed him. 

Poe swallowed to keep himself from gagging and immediately felt ashamed. 

Paige had constantly talked as if Rose had hung the stars and Paige wasn't the type of person who let others get too close. Despite the fact that Poe had heard Rose say all of two words prior to his ill-fated mutiny, he could tell that Rose was the type of person who could inspire others quietly — through her kindness rather than loud, brash action.

Simply put, Rose was his opposite. And she had visibly inspired and influenced Finn. 

Poe enjoyed thinking about what that meant for him, Finn, and Rose even less than thinking about why he was so insistent on looking after Finn. 

Ultimately Finn was his friend — a lifelong one if Poe had any say in it whatsoever, Poe couldn’t imagine his life without Finn despite only having known him for days — and if that meant supporting a romantic relationship between the two, he would support them.

It would hurt like hell, but he would do it for Finn. 

Unbidden, the voice of Jessika Pava rose in his mind, mocking him for that weird “Poe Dameron self-sacrifice thing.” 

“Do as I say, not as I do,” Poe murmured into an empty corridor of the _Falcon_. 

Poe was already used to not being the first thought in Finn’s mind so he compartmentalized, hopefully locking the truth of his feelings away where no one else could guess at them.

And he joked and laughed and drank with Rey and Finn and later asked Finn how Rose was doing as she slept.


	2. Shooting star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Finn stared, unmoving. Poe continued to move his thumbs in lazy circles, tracing the shape of Finn’s hands. _
> 
> _“Rose will be alright,” Poe said with a confidence he didn’t feel._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This covers more recent events post-Crait. I've not read the comics themselves, only the summaries so dialogue will not be exact (but let's face it, the abundance of SW stuff out there allows for a bit of liberty in fanfics anyway.)
> 
> Enjoy more Poe angst before the misunderstanding shenanigans begin in Chapter 3. ^ ^

Rey’s words echoed in his ears. 

_If there’s one thing I’m beginning to learn, Poe, it’s that you can’t dwell on changing the past. Concentrate on the present. Work with what you have._

She had then turned to Threepio to help translate some old Jedi text squirreled away from Ahch-to and he had left in search of Finn. 

His present had been a string of mistakes and misfires — thousands of lifetimes lived and lost, now firmly in his past. Perhaps this was why he already felt so close to Finn, closer than he had been with any being in quite some time. 

_You need a pilot._

He’d said it with a bravado that he didn’t truly feel at the time, buoyed by the nervous energy of a beautiful stormtrooper. In the moment, woozy from Kylo Ren, he had nearly asked aloud if all stormtroopers were this gorgeous beneath their helmets.

_I need a pilot,_ Finn had responded.

It was a fast friendship formed of necessity — one of those relationships that Commander Antilles and the older pilots had warned him about at the Academy. A relationship born of raw emotion that was somehow close to flying. And to a starfighter pilot, flying was also love. 

_You feel things too quickly, Poe. You wear your heart on your sleeve. Many will see that as a way to take advantage of you._

Finn reminded him a bit of his former flight instructor, although Poe supposed that the former stormtrooper would have reminded Antilles of Luke — not the Jedi master but the awkward, overconfident kid from Tatooine with bright eyes and a thirst for everything. He had heard Skywalker was like that once. Admittedly, it was still difficult for Poe to see either of them outside of the framing of his mother’s stories, despite his personal experiences with them both. She had been a fantastic storyteller, and Poe had desperately wanted to believe in heroes — to become one himself.

This wasn’t the first time that Poe had wondered about the great, unkillable Wedge Antilles’ relationship with Luke Skywalker, but it was only now that he recalled an undercurrent of sadness to these words. Poe was about as force-sensitive as duracrete, but suddenly realized that it had been a personal warning, not a general one. Antilles had made an attempt, albeit a vague one, to ensure that Poe wouldn’t be hurt.

Poe laughed to himself, leaning against a wall in the maze that was the _Falcon_, struck by the similarities. 

He wondered now, even with Antilles’ marriage to Norra Wexley, how you compartmentalized something like that. Or maybe it was her presence that ultimately helped seal those emotions away. 

He wondered if Antilles knew of Skywalker’s death. And if he didn’t, how his former flight instructor would react upon hearing the news.

He wondered how he would have reacted if Finn had died at the hands of Kylo Ren’s lightsaber.

Everything showed on Finn’s face at once in an earnest way that was as disarming as it was endearing. He could hear Antilles’ voice in his head, fervent and firm, continuously warning him to take a step back and assess the situation, be it in the cockpit or warming someone’s bed.

At the time, it had only sent him, somewhat angrily, to wank off to the image of Antilles himself in the ‘fresher and hadn’t that been awkward the next day. Antilles had said that he wasn’t force-sensitive, but he always managed to see through Poe with an impressive quickness. 

The corridors of the _Falcon_ somehow seemed to shift and move in time. Poe shook his head. This wasn’t the moment to reminisce about his somewhat embarrassing crush on his Academy flight instructor, but now that his mind had created a tenuous through-line between Finn and Antilles, Poe chuckled to himself at his odd preferences. Heroes, if he had to sum it up in a word, like the ones in stories his mother told, and Finn was certainly a shining example of one. 

Finn was sitting on the floor as Poe turned the corner, cross-legged and looking up at Rose’s prone body, laid out on a makeshift bed in one of the _Falcon_’s infinite alcoves. 

“How is she?”

“Oh, Poe.”

Finn jumped, startled by the question and Poe’s arrival. His brow furrowed in confusion, as if he was unsure as to why Poe would care about Rose’s well-being, eyes never leaving the maintenance mechanic. 

Poe watched as several other emotions flickered across Finn’s face before the former stormtrooper settled on resignation, straightening his posture. 

“She’s asleep,” Finn said, shrugging. “I’m not a doctor, so I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Poe said, groaning as he sat down next to Finn on the cool metal gridwork of the _Falcon_’s floor. He hadn’t realized how sore he was until this moment. 

“Are you okay?” Finn asked, finally looking directly at Poe. His eyes were filled with concern. Poe resisted the urge to shudder. 

“Yeah, buddy,” he responded, patting Finn gently on the shoulder. “I’m okay.” 

Finn frowned but instead of pushing Poe any further, he turned back to Rose.

“You know, in the First Order—“ Finn began before pausing his thought as if he wasn’t sure of how to complete it. 

Poe held his breath. He had not spent nearly as much time with Finn as he would have liked since Finn had wandered through the _Raddus_ dripping bacta — _you’ve known him for days, Dameron, mere days_ a voice that sounded suspiciously like Rebel Alliance hero Wedge Antilles rang through his thoughts — but he had a horrible idea of what Finn was about to say.

“In the First Order,” Finn repeated. “She would have just been left to die.”

Finn looked back at Poe, incredulous. 

“I would have been left to die. There’s no use for a trooper with a split backside.”

Finn said this lightly, as if it was an off-color joke that they could share together. 

Poe was furious. 

He reached out, grabbing Finn’s hands in his own. They were warm and calloused. He thought of Finn, prone and splayed out in the med bay after Starkiller. He thought of Finn hurtling towards the First Order cannon on a determined suicide mission, thrown off-course only by Rose crashing into him. 

“That does not happen here. That’s insane, you know that right? It’s insane, it’s inhumane, its—”

Poe couldn’t keep the simmering anger out of his voice and Finn blanched. A look of panic and fear flitted across Finn’s face.

“I get it. I get that now, Poe.”

Finn’s hand twitched underneath his and Poe was certain that Finn didn’t get it, not really. He tightened his grip and rubbed his thumbs against Finn’s palms. 

“You’re valuable,” Poe said. Finn opened his mouth to respond and Poe squeezed his hands again, tripping over his next words but desperately needing to say them. 

“You’re valuable not because you can shoot or take orders or whatever else they taught you but you’re valuable to me, Finn, as a person. As Finn.”

Finn stared, unmoving. Poe continued to move his thumbs in lazy circles, tracing the shape of Finn’s hands. 

“Rose will be alright,” Poe said with a confidence he didn’t feel. 

“Rose will be alright because I choose to believe that she will be. I can’t be sure if the First Order will fall, or we’ll get the resources we need or kriff, I just staged a mutiny and that was beyond the stupidest idea I’ve ever had. Sorry for getting you caught up in that—“

Finn shook his head. Poe didn’t know if this was Finn telling him that it was fine, or Finn disagreeing that it was the stupidest idea Poe had ever had. He decided to barrel on anyway. 

“But I choose to believe that we’ll make it, just like I choose to believe that our beacon will be answered, that Black Squadron will bring back reinforcements, that the First Order can be defeated, all that. That’s my choice.”

“Just like a choice to not be a stormtrooper,” Finn said. His face had shifted from a resigned frown to a budding smile. 

“Yeah, buddy, just like that.”

Poe released Finn’s hands and pulled out a bottle of whiskey he had found in one of the _Falcon_’s odd compartments. He held it out to Finn, who accepted it wordlessly and took a large swallow of it, immediately stuttering and coughing loudly. 

With the building tension broken, Poe laughed. 

“Alcohol not part of a stormtrooper’s daily regimen?”

Finn shrugged.

“Sometimes.” 

When Finn didn’t elaborate, Poe shook his head and took a swig himself. Finn stood up and wrapped another blanket around Rose, tucking it in carefully.

Poe flinched at Finn’s tenderness while caring for Rose before internally berating himself for his jealousy. Finn was his friend, his friend who had just shaken a lifetime of abusive conditioning.

And it could be worse. Poe closed his eyes and was greeted by imagery of Finn taking off the jacket — Poe’s mother’s jacket, Shara Bey’s flight jacket — and laying it over Rose. 

It could be worse. It could have been the jacket and not a spare blanket. Poe shook his head. Finn didn’t need to be burdened with the inconvenient feelings of a recently-demoted commander.

Yet, Poe couldn’t help but notice that when Finn sat back down on the floor, they were slightly closer to each other than they had been before, the shoulder of the jacket brushing briefly against Poe’s own shoulder and Poe ached for Finn. 

_Concentrate on the present. Work with what you have._ Rey had said.

Poe didn’t dare to move closer. He also didn’t move away. 

“Poe?” 

“Yeah?”

“What happened after Starkiller? Why didn’t we defeat the First Order there?”

It was an innocent question. Poe’s entire body stilled. The _Falcon_ creaked and shuddered, as if conveying Poe’s own reluctance. 

“Sorry I asked, I’ll just—“

Poe held up a hand, interrupting Finn’s apology. He took another swallow of the whiskey, passing it back to Finn, who was looking at him, eyes anxious with worry. Poe waved his hand and shook his head, as if that would allay all of Finn’s concerns. 

“No, buddy,” Poe said. “I’m just trying to decide where to begin.”


	3. I'll show you my galaxy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _He needed to be happy for her for fuck’s sake. Maybe that meant he needed to be happy for Finn and her as a couple as well. Poe suddenly felt a bit nauseous. He couldn’t tell whether it was his overactive imagination, but they seemed close and he couldn’t help but wonder how quickly Rose had recovered and how long he had been away from Finn and the Resistance. _
> 
> _Kriffing time changes. _
> 
> _Finn stopped abruptly a short distance away from Poe, Rose smirking a bit at Finn as she stood next to him. His eyes were wide as he studied Poe’s face. Poe fought the urge to blush under the sudden inspection._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when this was supposed to be done before TRoS? Heh. Also I'm bumping it out to six chapters in total to write a proper "getting together" fic as a bridge between TLJ and TRoS. Enjoy. ^ ^

Days had passed, possibly weeks, possibly months. Probably not years. It certainly hadn’t been that long. 

He roughly estimated that it had been two weeks. 

Poe quickly lost track whenever he was in the air, and whenever he was grounded he was in a different location with different suns, different rotational speed, different days. They all blended together after a while into a stretch of time marked by interaction or contact with other beings. In hyperspace everything blended together. 

Soft snoring interrupted his thoughts. Snap was improbably curled up in Karé’s lap. Her cheek grazed a dirt stain on Poe’s uniform shoulder. Snap’s elbow dug into his side. All three were crammed into the cockpit of Snap’s T-70. The smell was awful. 

A grin spread across Poe’s face until he was beaming ear-to-ear.

Karé had passed out first and then Snap. Both had residual smiles on their faces as they slept. Grail City had ultimately been a success. 

Now that it was relatively quiet, as quiet as a T-70 could be, he heard a small tapping noise. Poe attempted to lean back but due to the lack of space settled for looking up. Next to the ventilation grille above the main controls a piece of paper was flapping against a small red light. Poe groaned, reaching up to unstick it from the grille before he realized it was purposefully stuck there will some sort of construction tape. Running his fingers over the worn surface, he realized that it was a picture of Karé. 

Raised on the love stories of his parents and other members of the Rebellion, part of Poe wished he could afford to be that openly sentimental. 

It had been a long time since he had emphatically told Finn that there was no way the Resistance would ever simply dump his wounded body for lack of resources. After that, Snap’s distress call had come in and he had spent the next stretch of time frantically convincing the General that Black Squadron was the Resistance — it hadn’t taken all that much convincing, just an assurance that he wasn’t overreacting, throwing himself voluntarily into another situation to atone for previous mistakes. 

“Martyrdom is not the path for you,” the General had said somewhat cryptically, as if she knew that there was still a significant part of Poe who wanted to be the hero that Jess had somehow dolled him up to be in a Resistence recruitment holo, even with all that had happened. Yet, in the end she had let him go. And they had won. It was by an admittedly slim margin, but a victory was a victory, and it came with the added bonus of Prime Minister Grist and all of Ikkrukk’s support. 

Poe hadn’t slept in what felt like years, yet he beamed, wide awake, into the darkness as Karé and Snap snored. The Resistance had begun to spread.

***

Their new base was on Ajan Kloss.

Poe had never set foot on Ajan Kloss before, but as soon as the cockpit opened it felt like home. The dense humidity of the jungle air wrapped around him like a familiar greeting. 

He wondered if the General purposefully picked places like this, Ajan Kloss, D’Qar — as if they could take her back to Yavin 4. Maybe it was a superstitious thing. If he asked, Poe was certain he’d only receive a knowing half-smile and a line about how the Force continuously works in mysterious ways. 

“Oh thank fuck,” Snap yelled. He jumped down the ladder with surprising ease for someone of his height and weight.

“Thought I was going to die with how much you two reeked, kriffing hell.”

Poe laughed at Snap’s shrill shriek as Karé kicked him in the side. 

“You two smelled much worse than I did,” she said, somehow managing to maintain an air of dignity despite her wrinkled flight suit. 

“Nothing worse than the locker room at the Academy,” Poe said, sharing a look of solidarity with Snap. 

Karé wrinkled her nose at the memory before waving across their landing spot as Pava was aided out of her fighter. Poe threw her a grin and a mock salute as she was swarmed immediately by medical personnel. 

“We’d better get out of here while they’re taking care of Pava before they descend on us,” Poe said. 

Instead of a response he was met with a shove and elbow from Snap.

“Don’t look now but your boy is here,” Snap said, pointing across the clearing. 

Finn was waving frantically with both arms, wearing a large grin. His teeth gleamed in the sun. Finn’s smiles tended to take up the entirety of his face and show every emotion he was feeling at the time, and Poe was suddenly overwhelmed. 

“He does appear rather enthusiastic that you’re back,” Karé added. 

Poe ducked his head with embarrassment. 

“He’s like that with everyone he knows,” Poe said. “Hasn’t really had a chance to, you know, live.”

“I bet you could show him how to live,” Snap teased. 

“Kriff, Snap, shut up. It’s not like that.”

“Yeah just like you didn’t have a crush on my stepdad at the Academy you wank—“

Poe ground his heel onto Snap’s toes. Karé laughed and Poe felt laughter of his own bubble up out of his throat.

Finn stepped out into the clearing, nearly running to Poe. Cheeks a colourful red as she jogged behind Finn, was a presumably recovered Rose. 

Poe felt a pang of jealousy that he quickly pushed down with a physical swallow. The air even tasted almost like Yavin 4, and he felt a sudden wave of homesickness wash over him along with a secondary wave of shame. 

Rose had recovered. Rose was Finn’s… friend at the very least. Rose was also a genuinely nice and diligent person on her own. She was an asset to the Resistance. She was exactly the kind of person they needed. 

Poe liked Rose. Her determination was inspiring.

He needed to be happy for her for fuck’s sake. Maybe that meant he needed to be happy for Finn and her as a couple as well. Poe suddenly felt a bit nauseous. He couldn’t tell whether it was his overactive imagination, but they seemed close and he couldn’t help but wonder how quickly Rose had recovered and how long he had been away from Finn and the Resistance. 

Kriffing time changes. 

Finn stopped abruptly a short distance away from Poe, Rose smirking a bit at Finn as she stood next to him. His eyes were wide as he studied Poe’s face. Poe fought the urge to blush under the sudden inspection. 

“You have a beard,” Finn finally said. 

Poe subconsciously stroked his chin. It was a bit longer than he would have liked, now that Finn had brought it up. 

“Yeah, buddy.” 

Poe ran a hand through his hair, realizing halfway through the motion that his hair was slick with sweat, oil, and whatever else the air of Grail City had decided to dump into it. His bangs remained at an awkward angle on his forehead and he fought the urge to mat them back down. It would only make things worse. 

“Not much time to shave on a mission.” 

_What the hell was he even saying?_

Finn nodded and rewarded him with a broad smile, staring directly into Poe’s eyes. Rose covered her mouth, suppressing a loud giggle before Finn blushed and touched his shoulder to hers. She continued to snort as Finn sheepishly ducked his head. 

Poe’s heart sank. He still couldn’t help but return Finn’s smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this fic we say kriff and fuck


	4. Like a star, like falling rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“I’m not reading your mind with the Force. It’s obvious that you’re sad whenever Finn is around Rose because you look like—“ _
> 
> _She paused and gestured briefly at his face._
> 
> _“—that. Like a mission went wrong.”_

The scene at in the hangar was only the beginning. 

They sat together in the mess.

They attended the General’s briefings together.

If Poe couldn’t find Finn, a quick trip to the control hub found him laughing over reports with Rose while she did maintenance work on their computer system. When Poe walked into the room, Finn would blush and Rose would laugh. 

It was driving Poe crazy. 

Everywhere Finn went, Rose seemed to be just behind him. Everywhere that Rose went, Finn followed like a shadow, as if he was afraid to let her out of his sight. 

It reminded Poe of how he’d felt, watching Finn prone and unconscious in a bacta suit, wondering if he’d ever wake up. 

At night, Poe lay awake, staring up at hideous green star stickers that Jess had pasted to his ceiling after she had led him to his new room, both stumbling from their celebratory after party at the success of their mission and Jess’ recovery. 

Finn’s had beamed the entire night, smiling through all of Poe’s stories as he was forced to retell them, with dramatic emphasis, to the group. Rose had begged off of the party early, citing a headache. It was one of the few times that Poe had seen Finn without her since returning from Grail City. 

When Poe dreamed, he dreamt of Finn accelerating across the Crait salt flats. His dreams were red and black and white with salt and blood. There was no Rose, but the alternative was so much worse and when Poe woke, it was always with the salt of dried tears on his cheeks. He dug his fingers into the thin sheets of his cot, reminding him that Finn was alive and in a small room down a narrow passageway to the left. 

That Rose had saved him from death. 

Sometimes Poe wondered what he would have done in this situation if Rose and Finn had been dating before his failed mission. Before shipping the two of them off to Canto Bight and staging a mutiny.

He probably would have taken it worse, especially recognizing his own part in bringing them together. If anything, he was partially responsible for pushing Finn towards her. 

Poe swallowed rising bile back down his throat, sick at his own selfishness. It didn’t matter that Finn was in love with Rose as long as Finn was alive.

***

“Here’s what I think.”

Rey said this as she set her mug down roughly on the table. Poe jumped back instinctively as a ceramic clang echoed in the booth. 

“Hello to you too, Rey.”

“Sorry,” Rey said as she slid into the seat across from him.

The rest of the mess was quiet. No one woke up early if they didn’t have to, and the Resistance was currently in a lull, albeit a hopeful one due to Black Squadron’s unlikely success in Grail City and Jess’ recovery. 

Poe didn’t have anywhere to be. He just couldn’t sleep for more than a few hours at a time. 

If Poe had been in a better mood, he may have pointed out that Rey’s “Sorry” didn’t sound sorry at all. He also would have potentially told her off for rooting around in his mind without his permission, which then would have inevitably devolved into some sort of argument about the Falcon’s controls. She kept changing them on him and he couldn’t get used to how loosely she flew the freighter. 

Now that he had time to think on it for another moment, he and Rey had rarely talked. She was a person that Poe felt like he should know, thanks to a few of Finn’s stories, but didn’t. He had really only talked to her that one time immediately after Crait and she had been oddly serene, almost like she was only half present. 

It was creepy. Poe believed in the Force, but there was something about Rey that made him anxious. He wasn’t sure if he liked her.

“Are you done?” Rey asked. She took a long sip of her caf, raising an eyebrow at Poe’s inner monologue.

“Stay out of my head,” Poe snapped. 

“I wouldn’t do that without your permission.”

She looked genuinely offended. Poe sighed.

“Sorry,” he said. “I’m tired.”

Rey raised her eyebrow again at that but didn’t bother with a response.

“I’m not reading your mind with the Force. It’s obvious that you’re sad whenever Finn is around Rose because you look like—“ 

She paused and gestured briefly at his face.

“—that. Like a mission went wrong.”

Poe sighed. He really didn’t want to talk about this with Rey. Rey had been the subject of his irrational jealousy previously. 

She reminded him of some of the worst things about himself. 

“Finn’s my friend,” Rey pressed on. “He likes you.”

Poe resisted the urge to say something about how Finn didn’t like him enough, but swallowed a gulp of lukewarm caf instead. That would have been a horrible thing to say and he didn’t really believe it anyway. Finn and Rose together was going to take a while to get over, but he would get over it eventually. Poe wanted to tell Rey off.

He drained the last of his caf with a grimace.

“Ugh, that’s disgusting.”

“Really?” Rey said. “I think it’s pretty good.”

She squinted at the dregs of her mug, turning the cup in her hands slowly.

“You probably just haven’t had good caf before.”

Poe winced at his own condescending tone — Rey and Finn were similar in so many ways and a lack of experience with everyday things was one of them and he couldn’t imagine saying it that way to Finn. Instead he’d smile and joke and maybe elbow Finn in the ribs if he thought he could get away with it. 

Rey simply shrugged.

“Probably,” she said. 

A loud, immediately recognizable laugh interrupted the quiet atmosphere of the mess. Poe looked up at Karé, who he hadn’t noticed until this moment, laughing at something that Snap was saying. They were tucked away in a corner that was barely visible from his table. Poe thought of the worn photograph taped above Snap’s control panel. 

He looked back at Rey, who was squinting at him like he was some sort of mystery that she had to solve. 

“You working on the new Black One today?” She asked. 

He shrugged, wincing a bit at the callsign.

“Probably.”

Rey nodded and stood up.

“It’s a T-85 right? Can’t be that different than a T-70? Jakku was full of them.”

Poe sighed and then pushed his chair back. It scraped into the hard-packed dirt floor, leaving a small trail. There were worse ways to distract himself from his own thoughts, and piloting was pretty much the only thing he and Rey had in common. 

“Yeah, c’mon I’ll show you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with this story. ^ ^ The next chapter will finally feature Finn's POV.


	5. You shine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Poe gave a parting look at their joined hands on top of the table before turning away. His smile still didn’t reach his eyes. _
> 
> Oh.
> 
> _In her mind, Rose imagined an electrical circuit sparking slightly before completing its connection._
> 
> He thinks **I’m** in love with Finn.

“There’s something wrong with Poe.”

Rose looked up from her sandwich to Finn, who had placed his tray down at their usual booth in the mess and was now nervously wringing his hands, shifting his weight back and forth between his feet. 

Her heart sank. 

She wasn’t sure if they could handle another high-profile casualty, especially Poe, who was the beating heart of their entire operation — visibly emotional and wild when the General had to remain stoic and calm. 

Although she supposed that if Finn was here — looking worried and haggard but not completely crushed — it couldn’t be too serious. If Poe was dying, Rose was certain that Finn would be in the She fidgeted with the pendant Paige had given her. 

“What happened to him?” Rose finally asked after gesturing for Finn to sit down. It would be better to learn now than letting unspoken bad news hang over her head for the day. 

“He’s been avoiding me since he got back and I can’t figure out why.”

Rose was filled with a rush of relief. She ran her fingers through her hair before leveling a serious stare across the table. Finn blithely began eating, although there was a worried furrow to his brow. 

She sighed loudly. 

“Finn.”

“What?” 

He shoveled a spoonful of the bright green stew — food that she had purposefully avoided getting earlier during her own turn in the mess line — into his mouth, paused for a small satisfied groan.

“How can you possibly eat that stuff?”

“Hunh? It’s just food. It’s better than—”

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “If you say ‘It’s better than what they gave us in the First Order’ again I will hit you with my soddering iron.”

“You carry your soddering iron with you to the mess hall?” 

Rose groaned. She loved Finn, but sometimes he was infuriating. At the very least, he’d long since dropped his hero tough-guy act around her and now was simply an eager human with a lot of questions. 

She sighed and breathed deeply. This was a teaching moment, as the General would say. 

“You can’t just come in here and say ‘Something’s wrong with Poe’ like he’s injured!” Rose said. She hoped that she wasn’t yelling too loudly. A cursory look around the mess revealed that no one had even looked in their direction. “People will get the wrong idea!”

“Oh.” He paused, placing his spoon carefully down on his tray, and leaned forward. “I’m sorry Rose, I honestly didn’t think of that.”

“Well think of it next time,” she muttered. “I thought something was actually wrong.”

“There is something wrong though,” he said stubbornly. “He’s definitely avoiding me. I must have pissed him off or something but I don’t know how or when.”

At another one of her glares, Finn raised both of his hands up in a surrender position. “Okay, okay. I really am sorry!” He reached across the table and placed his hand over hers.

“Really, Rose. I know you’ve lost a lot. And you’ve helped me out so much. I’m really sorry. I’m just worried.”

She squeezed his hand tightly, breathing out slowly for a minute. It was a lot only when she allowed herself to think about it. Admittedly, she tried to distract herself as much as possible. First there had been no time because she’d been jetting off to Canto Bight. 

Then Crait happened. 

And now, rebuilding and preparation. 

She had been fortunate enough to remain busy this entire time. 

“Are you sure he’s not just busy?” She said after another pause, squeezing his hand again. They had all been preoccupied with work, given how small their numbers were after Crait. 

Finn shrugged. “I mean, yeah, we’re all busy I guess.”

“He had to go immediately to Grail City to rescue Jess, right?”

“Yeah but he’s been back for a little while now. You think he still has work there to do?”

“I think we all have work to do.”

Finn frowned and lifted his spoon only to realize that he’d finished all of his stew. Rose sighed again. Now that she was working with the General more closely, maybe she should ask her for tips on how to mediate these types of situations with more patience. 

“Finn, I know you don’t want to hear this but the best way to know is to ask him. Talk to him about how you feel.” 

She squeezed his hand again for reassurance. “He isn’t the kind of person who wouldn’t listen to you.”

“Who wouldn’t listen to you about what?”

“Poe!” Finn looked up, startled by Poe’s sudden appearance. For his part, Poe looked a bit sheepish. Rose raised her eyebrows, studying their commander as he rubbed his hands through his hair. 

“Sorry, I was about to see what you two were up to, but I couldn’t help but overhear,” Poe said. He turned to Finn with a serious expression. “Buddy, we’ve talked about this. You know there’s no one on base who won’t hear out something you have to say. And if they have a problem with it, send ‘em my way and I’ll take care of it.”

Poe gestured at his chest with his thumb and a cheesy grin. It reminded Rose of the over-the-top recruiting posters her sister had drawn once. 

“Thanks Poe,” Finn said, looking up at him. “I’ll figure it out myself though.”

Rose watched as Poe’s smile fell, rearranging itself into something a bit sad. She knew Poe still carried a lot of guilt for what had happened. 

“Have you been feeling alright lately, Commander?” Rose asked. If there was something actually wrong with him, she could at least make an attempt to pry a bit for Finn’s sake. 

“Oh, Rose you don’t have to call me that,” Poe said. 

He looked at her as if he hadn’t noticed that she was there until she had spoken. “I’m tired, but nothing a better night’s sleep won’t fix.”

She nodded slowly.

“Anyway, I was just finishing up and saw you two on my way out. I had a meeting that started a few moments ago,” Poe said, chuckling to himself. He looked down at Finn again, who hadn’t taken his eyes off of Poe the entire time. 

“Remember, we’re here to help! If anyone gives you shit, just let me know!” Poe said. “Or, ask Rose to help you. You have to take care of each other, you know?” 

Poe gave a parting look at their joined hands on top of the table before turning away. His smile still didn’t reach his eyes. 

_Oh._

In her mind, Rose imagined an electrical circuit sparking slightly before completing its connection. 

_He thinks **I’m** in love with Finn.___

_ _Rose giggled._ _

_ _As Poe walked away, Rose’s giggles quickly turned into uncontrollable laughter. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes and she couldn’t breathe. It felt good. _ _

_ _Finn stared. “Are you… alright?”_ _

_ _“Ah,” she said after a moment to collect herself, leaning her head back loosely so it brushed the stiff cushion towards the back of their booth. “I know exactly what his problem is. And, I know exactly how to help.”_ _

_ _“You do?” Finn looked confused but hopeful. He was equally terrible at keeping his emotions off of his face. _ _

_ _“Let’s go find Rey,” Rose said. “You two need all the help you can get.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still not super happy with how this came out but I've rewritten it enough times that it was post or nothing. After the final chapter is posted, I may go and revise this one since it's more of a transition chapter.


End file.
